U.S. officials on Thursday insisted that the economic pressure from the Navy’s blockade of Iranian ports will force Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, relieving the global economic pressure that has spiked energy prices over the past two months.
Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, noted that Iran is buckling from its inability to ship oil and other vital goods due to the blockade, which has stopped any vessel from entering or exiting Iranian ports.
“We are extremely hopeful. If you look at the Iranian economy now, it’s extremely on the ropes. They are having hyperinflation. They are running out of food,” he told White House reporters Thursday. “The leadership of any country that cares at all about its citizens should make a deal.”
President Trump launched the naval blockade this month in response to Iran’s own Hormuz blockade, which it has kept in place for two months. Washington’s strategy is intended to put further pressure on Iran’s economy and force it into a better deal for the U.S.
The blockade is an extension of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran, launched on Feb. 28 and intended to prevent the Islamic republic from obtaining nuclear weapons. They also want to curtail Iran’s missile program and support for terror proxies in the Middle East.
Mr. Hassett’s comments echo similar statements made by Mr. Trump and his Cabinet officials, who have insisted the strategy is causing chaos in Iran. Earlier this week, the president claimed that the Iranians told him the country was “in a state of collapse.”
Mr. Trump has also called the blockade “more effective than bombing.”
“Iran is dying to make a deal,” Mr. Trump said Thursday in the Oval Office.
“They are in very bad shape,” he said. “Their economy is crashing, the blockade is incredible.”
Mr. Trump was set to receive updated military options on Thursday from Pentagon officials.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday defended the Iran war against heavy criticism in Congress, arguing that the Islamic republic is “completely incapable” of rebuilding its military. He also reiterated that the U.S. would ensure that Iran can’t build a nuclear weapon.
The military strikes and blockade have not resulted in a deal, with Mr. Trump rejecting Iran’s latest offer this week. The pact reportedly would have lifted Iran’s Hormuz blockade in exchange for a delay in negotiating the future of Iran’s nuclear program.
The rejection came after Mr. Trump abruptly called off a meeting between U.S. diplomats and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Islamabad on Saturday. It would have been the second round of negotiations after the two parties met in Pakistan earlier this month.
Publicly, Iran has maintained a defiant posture this week, insisting that a U.S. strategy focused on aggressive coercion is destined to fail.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued a statement on Thursday, coinciding with his country’s National Persian Gulf Day, demanding the full removal of U.S. forces in the region.
“The presence of American forces in the Persian Gulf is the main source of insecurity,” Mr. Khamenei, who has not been heard from in person since he assumed office in March, wrote in a statement.
He added that Iran would retain control over the Strait of Hormuz to ensure regional stability. Other Iranian officials, including Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, have insisted that Iran should retain sovereignty over the strait after the war concludes.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian added to the chorus on Thursday by insisting that America’s economic pressure strategy is “doomed” and implied it could be a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
“What is being done under the guise of a naval blockade is an extension of military operations against a nation paying the price for its resistance and independence,” Mr. Pezeshkian wrote on X.
Still, the U.S. naval blockade has exacerbated what were already dramatic economic challenges for Iran before the war. Iran’s rial, which had a severe devaluation earlier this year, hit a record low this week of 1.8 million to $1.
The blockade has also battered Iran’s oil exports, one of its main revenue streams before and during the war. Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, announced on Wednesday that the blockade has redirected 42 commercial vessels trying to enter or exit Iranian ports.
U.S. forces have also intercepted several vessels allegedly ferrying Iranian oil to Chinese ports, both near the Strait of Hormuz and in the broader Indo-Pacific region, according to the Pentagon.
But Iran maintains it can outlast the U.S. when it comes to economic pressure.
Iran’s decision to close the Strait of Hormuz has created chaos in international energy markets and led to a spike in domestic gas prices. This week, gas prices in the U.S. hit a wartime high, with prices sitting at an average of $4.23 a gallon on Wednesday. Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, traded as high as $126 a barrel on Thursday.
Also Thursday, Mr. Trump said he is fine with FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s insistence that Iran “will be participating” in this summer’s World Cup, hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
“Let them play,” Mr. Trump said.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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